Improvement in printing-presses



Printing Pre55 4 Shee'cs--Sheetl Patented March 12, 1872..

s. D. TUCKER.' No. 124,460.

S. D. TUCKER. Printing Press. 4 SheeS--Shei 2- Patented March 12,.1872.

Print-ing Press,

4 Sheets--Sheet 3Q Patented March 12, 1872.

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ArEN'r STEPHEN D. TUCKER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,460, dated March12, 1872.

Specification describing certain Improvements in Typographic andLithographie Printing-Wlachines, invented by STEPHEN D.TUCK ER, ofthecity, county, and State of New York.

The first part of my invention consists in mechanism for stoppin g,holding, and starting the impressioi'i-cylinder of an ordinarystopcylinder printing-machine5 the object being to hold the cylinder inproper position during the backward movement ofthe bed, so that it shallgear with and start correctly with the bed on its forward travel. rlhesecond part of myinvention consists in mechanism by which the bed andform can be caused to run two or more times to each sheet printed; theobject of this part being to enable the form to be brought under theinking-rollers two or more times when it is required to ink it morethoroughly. The third part of my invention consists in an arrangement ofmechanism by which the impression-cylinder can be thrown out of actionwhile the machine is in motion, and the mechanism is so constructed thatit will not act upon the cylinder except at the proper times. rlhefourth part of my invention consists in mechanism by which the movementsof the inkfountain roller, the fingers, drop-arms, register-points, andsheet-hier are controlled, so that they may be prevented from operatingwhen thebed is running two or more times to one impression, and onlyallowed to act but once to each sheet printed. The fifth part of myinvention consists in an arrangement of adjustable feed-guides forobtaining register of the sheet without the use of register-points.

Description of the Dra/wing.

Figure lis a side elevation of a printing-machine with my improvement-s.Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same taken from the righthand side ofFig. l. Fig. 3 is a top view of a portion of the machine with theimpressioncylinder removed, showin g the arrangement of the inking anddistributing` rollers. Fig. et is a side elevation, partly in section,of that portion of the mechanism which arrests the motion of theimpressioncylinder, holds it while the bed is traveling backward, andstarts it at the proper time when the bed commences its forwardmovement. Figs. 5 and G illustrate the mechanism employed to cause thebed to travel backward and forward two or more times to each impression.Figs. 7 and 8 show the form and arrangement of the mechanism by whichthe motion ofthe cylinder can be arrested at the proper time, and thebed allowed to run without the cylinder as long as required. Figs. 9 andl0 show the arrangement ofthe inking and distributing rollers. Figs. lland 12 show the mechanism for regulating the supply of water from thereservoir to the damping-rollers. Fig.13 shows the arrangement ofthemeans employed to arrest the motion of the fingers of theimpression-cylinder. Figs. 14, l5, and 16 show the construction and themethod of operating the feedguides for obtaining register of the sheet.

General Description.

A is the bed of the machine, and B B are the side frames. The ribs C Cform the track upon which the type-bed D runs. E is theimpression-cylinder, held in bearings in the side frames, and operatedby .the toothed wheel F, driven by the rack G on the bed D. H is thedriving-shaft, with a pinion, l, secured upon it which gears into anddrives the wheel K. One end of the connecting-rod M is jointed to thecrank L on the end otl theshaft ot' the wheel K, and the other end isforked, so as to embrace and be connected to theaxle of the toothedwheel N. As the crank-wheel K revolves it gives a backward-and-forwardrolling motion to the wheel N. This wheel gears into a rack, O, boltedto the bed-plate A, and also into a similar rack, P, secured to theunder side of the type-bed; and as the wheel N rolls back and forth uponthe fixed rack 0 it imparts a reciprocating motion to the bed D. Theextent of this motion is just double that of the wheel N. Thecircumference of the impression-cylinder is equal to the travel of thetype-bed in one direction. It is driven by the action of the gear G onthe bed D, the' teeth of which gear with the toothed wheel F. In orderto prevent a retrograde motion of the cylinder when the bed is about tomake its trav'el backward, the teeth of the wheel F, that would be ingear with the rack Gr at this time, are cut away so that the bed movesunder the wheel F without turning it, and leaves the cylinderstationary; but to insure the complete revolution ot' the cylinderbefore it stops, to hold it while the bed returns, and to start itforward at the proper time, so a-s to gear correctly with the rack Gr,the following mechanism, shown in Fig. 4, is employed: A catchtooth, 1,is bolted to the side of the cylinderwheel F, and acatch-lever, 2, tooperate this tooth is jointed tothe side frame at 3. One end of aconnecting-rod, 4, is jointed to this catch-lever 2, and is providedwith a hookshaped notch, 5, near the other end, which lits over a pin,6, in the upright arm 7 of a threearm cam-lever, Q. This lever is Xed onthe shaft 8, which turns in bearings secured to the frame 5 and the twoarms 9 10 have frictionrollers upon their ends running in contact withthe cams 11 12 secured upon the crank-wheel shaft. These cams are soadjusted upon the shaft and are so shaped that just as the bed andcylinder are together completing their forward movement they act uponthe lever Q, to draw the catch-lever 2 into gear with the catchtooth lon the cylinder-wheel, and bring the cylinder to the properstopping-point. The cams then act, through the catch-lever 2, to holdthe cylinder stationary while the bed returns, and then start it forwardso that the cylinder-wheel shall gear correctly with the rack. While thecylinder and bed are again moving together the catch-lever returns toits former position to be ready again for the catchtooth. The fingers R,which seize the sheet to be printed, are so placed upon theimpressioncylinder that when it is stationary they are about over itscenter, as in this position they can the more conveniently receive thesheet from the feed-table. The space in front of the impression-cylindertraversed by the bed is occupied by the form-rollers S S for iuking theform, 'and when it is required to subject the form to a more thoroughinking the bed is caused to run backward and forward beneath the rollerstwice to one movement of the cylinder, by the following mechanism:

A broad-faced pinion, 13, fixed on the crankwheel shaft, gears into awheel, 14, of twice its size, ruiming loose on the shaf't of thelever Q.This wheel has a lifting-cam, 15, on its side, and a friction-roller,16, fixed to the lifting-rod, 17, runs on it 5 the lower end of thisrod, 17 is forked to embrace the shaft S, and the upper end is jointedto the connecting-rod 4. As the wheel 14 revolves it causes the cam 15to act upon the rod, and alternately raise the connecting-rod 4 up fromand drop it down upon the pin 6 in the upright arm of the camlever Q.During the ret-urn of the type-bed, after printing a sheet, and whilethe impression-cylinder is held stationary by the connecting-rod andcatch-lever, the cam 15 is brought under the roller 1G, and acts uponthe lifting-rod 17, to lift and hold up the connecting-rod 4from the pin6, so that as the bed commences its forward movement the cams 11 and 12draw forward the cam-lever Q, without giving any motion to theconnecting-rod and catch-lever. The end of the connecting-rod 4 isfurnished with a stud, 1S, which fits into a slot in the piece T, boltedto the side frame,

when the cam-wheel 14 lifts the connectingrod 4 olf the cam-lever pin 6.This holds the rod 4 stationary, and prevents the cylinder movingaccidentally, while the connecting-rod 4 is raised from the cam-lever 0.When the bed and form are returning the second time backward, thecam-wheel 14 drops the lifting-rod 17 and causes the hook 5 of theconnecting-rod 4 to drop upon the pin 6 of the cam-lever Q, so that, asthe bed commences its forward movement, the cylinderwheel F is throwninto gear with the rack on the bed, and the cylinder revolves with theforward motion ofthe bed. A spring, 19, `joined to the connecting-rod 4,by the rod 20, insures the dropping of the connecting-rod onto the pin(i on the cani-lever.

If it is required to run the bed backward and forward three or moretimes to each sheet printed, the wheel and pinion, 13 a-nd 14, describedabove, must be removed and others of the proper proportion substituted,and the shape of the cam 15 also altered to suit. When a sheet isprinted at every forward movement of the bed, the cam-wheel 14 is pushedback on its shaft until the cam 15 is out of contact with thefriction-roller 16 on the liftingrod 17; but the wheel 14 always remainsin gear with the pinion 13.

If it is required to run the bed many times without printing, it may bedone by raising the connecting-rod 4 up until the stud 18 fits into theslot in the piece T, and then putting apin under it. This keeps theconnecting-rod 4 from being operated bythe cam-lever Q, and causes thecylinder to be held stationary as long as required.

To enable the impression cylinder to be thrown out of action while themachine is running tlie following'mechanism is used: A treadle-shaft,21, runs across the machine having a treadle, U, eonven ient to the footof the feeder, and also provided with a handle, if required, at theother side of the machine for the assistant. An arm, 22, is fixed onthis shaft, having at its extremity ajointed rod, 23,;(see Fi'O. 7,)running upwards through a guide screwed to the frame, and ending justclear of the under side ofthe connecting-rod 4, and when the treadle ispressed down by the feeder the rod 23 lifts the connecting-rod 4 up fromthe pin 6 in the arm of the cam-lever Q, and raises the stud 1S into theslot in the piece T, and the cylinder remains stationary. But to preventthe connecting-rod 4 being lifted at the wrong time, another arm, 24,isfixed on the treadleshaft, having at its extremity a jointed rod, 25,running up and forked to embrace the shaft of the crank-wheel K. Thisrod 25 plays up and down just in front of a disk, 26, keyed to theshaft, upon whose face a projecting ledge, 27, is formed, ruiming alittle more than half way around its circumference, and terminating in asharp edge at each end. A short projecting lip, 2S, also sharp at theends, is fixed on the side of the rod 25, next the disk, and the motiongiven to the rod 25 by the treadle is such that the lip can worksometimes below and sometimes above the ledge 27. The position of thedisk 26 on the shaft is such that, Vwhile the cylinder E is in motion,the ledge 27 is passing over the lip 23, and acts to hold the rod 25down, and prevent a-n y movement ofthe shaft 2l and rod 23, so that theconnecting-rod 4cannot be lifted up out of action with the lever Q whilethe cylinder and bed are printing. As soon as the cylinder has completedits revolution, and the bed has commenced to return, the disk 26, whichis continually turning with the shaft of the crank-wheel K, will be insuch a position that the lip 28, on the forked rod, will pass betweentheedges of the ledge 27, and allow the shaft 21 to be turned, so that the.rod 23 will be raised and lift the connecting-rod 4 olf the pin 6, andbring the stud lS into the slot in the piece T. At this point the ledge27 will pass under the lip 2S, and hold-the rod 23 and theconnecting-rodet up until the bed has commenced to return, when theledge on the disk 26 will pass from under the lip 2S, and the foothaving been in the meantime removed from the treadle U, the lifting-rod23 will be forced down by the coilspring around it, and allow theconnecting-rod 4 to drop again upon the pin 6, in the arm of thecam-lever Q, ready for action as before.

Figs. 7 and S of the drawing, show clearly the arrangement of thismechanism. By its use, the connecting-rod 4, and, consequently, thecylinder, can only be thrown out of action while the cylinder hasstopped and the bed is returning; and when thus thrown out of actionthey can only be brought into it again while the bed is makin gifsreturn or backward movement.

The form-hiking rollers S S turn in the adjustable bearings 29 29,secured to the roller brackets V V by set-screws. Each pair of' rollershas a vibrating roller, 30, placed partly above and partly between them.The vibrating rollers 3() are driven from a rack, W, on one side of thetype-bed, through a-n intermediate pinion, 31, which runs loose on thestud 32, and gears with the pinion 33 on the vibrating-roller shaft, andwith the rack W. The vibrators 3() are made to move endwise by means ofan upright shaft, 34, operated from the grooved cam 36 on the shaft X.The lower Y end of the upright shaft 34 has an arm, 35, se-

cured to it, provided with a friction-roller, which runs into the groovein the cam 36; and the upper end of the shaft has a two-armed lever, 37,secured to it, each end of which takes into a grooved collar, 33, on theouter end of the shaft of each roller 30, and the operation of the shaft34 causes one vibratin roller to move in an opposite direction from itsneighbor-th at is, when one roller is vibrating or moving inward theother is moving outward.

If more inking and vibrating-rollers are used, they may be operated byadditional upright shafts connected with the upright-shaft 34, andactuated from it by means of arms and a connecting-rod.

The inkin g-rollers S are held in the adjustable bearings, and are soarranged with relation to the vibrating-rollers 30, that they can bequickly and accurately adjusted laterally as they decrease in size fromwear, by loosening the set-screws of the bearings 29, and moving theminto the proper position. By lifting the vibrating-roller. 30 out of thebearings in the bracket V, the hiking-rollers can be readilyremoved'from the machine without disturbing the bearings 29.

When the machine is double-rollin g 7-tl1at is, when the bed is runningback and forth twice to each sheet printed-it is often desirable thatthe fountain-roller, the iin gers, droparms, and sheet-Hier shouldoperate but once to each impression. To accomplish this a shaft, Y, isplaced below and parallel with the shaft X, having an arm, 39, fixedupon it, which is held in contact with and receives motion from a cam,40, on the side of the wheel 41. This wheel runs loose upon its stud inthe bracket 42, and gears with and is driven by a pinion of half itssize secured on the shaft X, so that the wheel 4l makes but onerevolution to two ofthe shaft X, and the `shape of the cam 40 is suchthat at each revolution it causes the shaft Y to turn slightly back andforth. A series of short arms, one of which is shown at 43, Fig. 13, arefixed by set-screws upon the shaft Y below each of the forked rods thatoperate the fountain-roller, iin gers, drop-arms, &c., and act at theproper times to arrest the motion of these parts. As the bed returnsafter printing a sheet the lifting-cams on the shaft X raise the forkedrods, one of which, operating the fingers R and the adjustable guides,is shown in Fig. 13, and the cam 40 on the wheel 4l at this momentcauses the shaft Y to turn slightly and bring the arms 43 under the endsof the rods, so as to prevent their dropping down during one completerun of the bed. Vhen the bed is running back again preparatory to makingits travel forward with the' cylinder, the shaft Y turns again andbrings the arms 43 back to their former position, so

-that the forked rods are left free to be raised by the cams on theshaft X and operate the fingers, drop-arms, and other mechanism.

When the machine is printing a sheet at every run of the bed, the arm 39is slipped on the shaftY out of contact with the cam 40, and when thebed is running three or more times to each sheet printed, the wheel 4land its pinion must be changed so as to operate the shaft Y and its arms43 at the same intervals. It will be necessary, in this case, to changethe cam 40, also, f'or one of the shape necessary to operate the arm 39properly. The movements of the sheet-flier are controlled the same asthe parts described above, from the shaft Y by means of the arm 44secured on the shaft.

Vhen the machine is used toprint from a lithographie stone, the wettingmechanism, represented in Figs. 11 and 12, is employed to damp thestone. It is composed of a Waterreservoir, Z, provided with a roller,45, turning slowly in it and raising the water up to the taking-roller49. The roller 45 is driven by the belt 46 from the pulley 47, on theshaft X, and the takin g-roller 49 runs in bearings in the arms 50, onthe shaft 51, and is operated bythe caln 54 through the medium oftheliftin g-rod 53, to raise up and take the Water from the roller 45,and then drop down and Wet the roller 60.

The quantity of water given to the dampin g-rollers is regulated by thelength oi' time the taking-roller 49 is held up in contact with theroller 45, and this time is governed by the cam 52, which is made withcam surfaces of ditierent lengths, and is arranged to slide upon andturn with the shaft X by a feather, 54, runningin a groove, 55, in theshaft. This permits the cam 52 to be moved so as to bring a differentsurface beneath the roller 56 on the rod 53.

IThe means for setting and holding' the cam upon the shaft X is shown inFigs. 1, 11, and 12 ot' the drawing. It consists ota rod, 57, held inbearin gs onthe side frame and fastened at one end to the collar 59,which tits loosely in a groove in the end of the cam 52. The rod 57 isprovided with a handle to slide it backward and forward for the purposeot' adjusting the cam 52 and itis secured from any accidental movementby the sliding catch 53. The taking-roller 49 drops upon and Wets themetal intermediate-roller 60, Fig. 11, and this in turn Wets the twodamping-rollers 61, which are always in contact withit. These wetting'-rollers 61 are covered with any suitable elastic material, and turn inadjustable bearings to regulate their pressure upon the stone. They aredriven by the rack W' on the bed through the medium of pinions lixed ontheir shat'ts in order to keep them constantly turning for the betterdistribution ,of the water, and to prevent them slipping when in contactwith the stone.

The adjustable feed-guides for holding the edge of the sheet on thefeed-board in proper position to be seized by the ngers of theimpressioircylinder, are shown in Figs. 14, 15, and'16. They are securedupon the rock-shaft 72 by the set-screws 73, and are operated by the cam74 ou the shaft X through thc medium of the'lit'ting-'rod 77 andlever7S, that also operate the tin gers lt. The rocker-shaft 72 has an arm,75, secured on it which rests upon and i is raised'by thc lever 7 S asthe cam 74 lifts the rod 77. This movement acts to raise the forwardends ofthe feed-guides above the surface ofthe sheet, and hold them upuntil the cylinder has drawn the sheet from the teed-board,and thismotion occurs immediately after the fingers have seized the sheet, sothat the position of the sheet upon the feed-board is not disturbed, anda perfect register is obtained.

The feedguides are rendered adjustable by the use of thumb-screws 76, sothat the guides can be quickly and very accurately adjusted to hold theedges of the sheet in proper position to be seized by the fingers 1t,and they may be adjusted While the machine is in motion. A similar setof feed-guides may be also arranged upon the side of the feed-board tocontrol the other edge ot' the sheet.

Having thus fully described my improved printing-machine, what I claimtherein as my invention, is- ,l

1. The mechanism for stoppin g, holdin `s1','and starting theimpressioircy]inder, consisting of the three-armed ylever Q, the cams l1and 12, the connecting-rod 4, the catch-lever 2, and tooth 1, or theequivalents thereof, constructed and operated substantially as describedand specified.

2. The mechanism for causing the bed and form to travel back and forthtwo or more times to each sheet printed, consisting of the gears 13 and14, cam 15, and lifting-rod 17, op erating the connecting-rod 4,constructed and operating substantially as described and speciiied.

3. The mechanisln for controlling the movement of theimpression-cylinder, consisting of the treadle U and treadle-shat't 2l,the arms 22 and 24, the lifting-rod 23, the rod 25, with its lip 28, andthe disk-cam 26, operating in connection with the co11necting-rod4, thewhole constructed and operating substantially 'as described andspecified.

4. The arrangement ot' the shaft Y, provided with arms 43 44, and drivenby the pinion on the shaft X through the wheel 41, its cam 40, and thearm 39, for arresting and controlling the motions ot' the fingers,sl1eet-1iier,and other mechanism, substantially as described andspecified.

5. The feed-guide, Fig. 1G, one end ot' which is slotted to straddle agrooved adjusting-screw 76, in combination with a friction-clamp, 7S,adjustable block 77, and rocker-shaft 72, all constructed and operatingsubstantially as above described.

6. The multiple-cam 52, feathered to the shaft X, and controlled in itsposition by an independent adjustable locking device, as described, incombination with the rod 53, rocker shat't 51, conductii'ig-rollcr 49,i'ountailrroller 45, and fountain Z, for automatically regulating thesupply of Water to the wetting-rollers, all constructed and operatingsubstantially as above described.

7. The mechanism for adjustingthe variable cam 52, consisting ofthe rod57, catch 5S, and collar 59, constructed and operating substantially asdescribed and speciiied.

STEPHEN l). TUCKER.

Witnesses:

STEPHENS. Hon, ALEXR. W. FYFE.

